


The Ties Were Black, The Lies Were White

by Rara_Danvers



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst and Humor, F/F, High School Reunion, Lena Luthor Knows Kara Danvers Is Supergirl, Lena Luthor-centric, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths Crossover Event (CW DC TV Universe), Protective Kara Danvers, Supergirl (TV 2015) Season 5, jus a lil bit, not a lot, this fic is 7k kill me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:20:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22590055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rara_Danvers/pseuds/Rara_Danvers
Summary: Kara holds out her hand. “Kara Danvers. Ace reporter at Catco Worldwide Media and loving wife of Lena Luthor,” An air of confidence seemed to surround her, and no longer was Lena standing next to quirky journalist Kara Danvers, but someone closer to Supergirl. It felt like Lena was watching her toe the line between both personalities.“Loving wife, huh?” Roulette says, her mouth up turning into an amused smirk.ORLena asks Kara to accompany her to her boarding school reunion. Kara decides to pretend to be her wife.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 33
Kudos: 1495





	The Ties Were Black, The Lies Were White

The moment Lena receives the gold trimmed letter in the mail, she wants nothing to do with it. She knows exactly what it is and contemplates whether she should shred it or burn it. She always knew this day would come but never thought it would come this soon. And now that it has, she was backed into a corner with no way out.

She had a day and a half to come up with some type of excuse, of course. _Anything_ believable that could get her out of this. She could say she was sick, or had a red eye to Milan for business in the morning. Though like most rich people things, this was all about appearances, and, coming from the not only infamous but insanely wealthy Luthor family, it was Lena’s duty to uphold theirs. She was the only sane one left, unfortunately.

Half way through coming up with some convoluted excuse she realizes that she didn’t have to bear the brunt of the storm by herself. She could drag somebody down with her. Somebody who always made the promise to jump when she did.

“Oh, absolutely not,” Andrea scoffs after walking past Lena and reaching for the bottle of scotch set upon Lena’s kitchen counter. 

Lena had invited Andrea over for drinks with the hopes of buttering her up. It was failing miserably, to say the least. “Oh come on! Didn’t you get an invitation to?”

Andrea nods before pouring herself a glass. “I did. Which is all the more reason why I’m not going. I _hated_ that school. I was only going there because my mom shoved me into it so that she could go around cheating on Papi, you know that,”

Lena _did_ know that. It was one of the first things Andrea had said to her when they first met. “Yes, okay,” she conceded. “Very true. But we’re both adults, right? Don’t you think everyone would be at least a _little_ bit more mature now?”

Andrea gives her a withering look. “You know as well as I do that what you just said was utter and absolute complete bullshit.”

Lena purses her lips. “That may be so, but I still need your help. I can’t do this alone.” she gives the other woman what she could only hope was some form of puppy dog eyes.

Andrea shakes her head, unaffected. “Nope. Nuh-uh. I’ve got six million other things I’d rather do right now that don’t include trying to out rich my fellow millennial one percenters.”

Lena pinches the bridge of her nose. “Please?” she begs. “You’re my only hope.”

Andrea rolls her eyes. “And that’s an issue. Why don’t you ask Sam?”

Lena shakes her head. “Ruby’s got a soccer game this weekend and she would never miss it.” 

Andrea shrugs. “What about Kara?”

Lena frowns at that. “What _about_ Kara?”

“Well,” the other woman says, taking a sip of scotch. “Seeing how I just said no and Sam can’t make it, I’d say _she’s_ really your only hope.”

“You know how I feel about her right now. She lied to me. Strung me along for three years as if it nothing to he—”

Wordlessly and smirking, Andrea hands her the rest of her drink as if to say, _“Here, you need this more than I do.”_

Lena gratefully takes it from her and gulps down the rest without missing a beat.

Amused, Andrea says, “I’m not saying you have to, but, I do think if you’re going to have a go at this, you shouldn’t go at it alone. Given the relationship you two have, it would probably be easier for you to wade through the nouveau riche bullshit with her at your side.”

Lena couldn’t argue with that. Kara had been there plenty of times for her at every kind gala, dinner party, and snooty soiree to know her way around National City’s wealthiest elite. 

The alumni of her boarding school were absolutely no different.

Her hands were tied, so to speak, and she didn’t have many options here. She folds her arms in defeat. “Fine,” she says in resignation. “I’ll give her a call.”

“Good luck,” Andrea kisses her cheek as she walks out the door, leaving Lena to deal with the situation to come.

* * *

When Kara lands on her balcony the next night, Lena’s leaning against the kitchen counter biting her lip. Kara seems to look just as nervous as she is. 

Lena fiddles awkwardly with the watch as the heroine approaches her. 

“Hey,” Kara says tentatively. Lena can see she still doesn’t know how to talk to her, how to even be _around_ her. “Um, you called?”

Lena nods. “Yeah. Em, I wanted to ask you. Do you have any plans this weekend?”

Kara’s eyebrows furrow. Her tone is a bit startled. “No, not really. I mean, Alex and I were gonna go up to Midvale to see Eliza but Kelly surprised her with a couple’s weekend and I didn’t want to take her away from that,” she rambles, wringing her hands. 

“I....wanted to know if you would accompany me to an event this weekend.” Lena can’t look her in the eye, but she can see Kara reaching out for her. She instinctively puts her hands behind her back, keeping as much space between them as she could.“It’s...a reunion for my old boarding school. Andrea can’t make it so..”

“You want me to come?” Kara’s eyes are bright with hope and admiration, a small yet mirthful smile on her lips. She was still hoping to get their relationship back to the way it was, or at least some form of it, and Lena was guessing she saw this as the first step. 

Lena shuts that down immediately. 

“I still haven’t forgiven you for what you’ve done,” She reminds Kara, feeling a small pang of regret when the childish smile fades. “This is just two people who know each other coming to an agreement.” she adds stiffly, using her boardroom voice and folding her arms. It seems like it's more to convince herself than to inform Kara.

Kara blinks. “It’s not much of an agreement if I don’t get anything out of it, don’t you think?” She takes a step closer to the other woman, who instinctively takes a futile step back—she had nowhere else to go.

Lena gulps, eyeing her cautiously. “What do you want out of this?” Kara isn't the lacivous type, so something like sex is something she would never go for. Money wasn’t on the table either, especially since she was paid very well being one of the most notable reporters in National City. 

Kara puts her hands on her hips. “Three weeks worth of dumplings from Cheng’s. _And_ unlimited coffee from Noonan’s for a month.” she grins when the other woman looks utterly dumbfounded.

Lena fought the urge to snort. Of course she’d go for food. It was always food with her. Rolling her eyes, she relents. “Fine, deal.” for the first time since Kara’s been here, she reaches out towards her. She grimaces when a strong tan hand shakes her own. 

Kara looks pleased with herself. “Cool. When do we leave?”

"Tomorrow.” Lena didn’t exactly know how she’d feel about this arrangement. And now that it was happening, she was beginning to realize she was biting off more than she could chew. “Meet me at NCA?”

Kara nods, grinning and backing towards the balcony. “Yeah. Totally. Yeah.” she waves before taking off into the night, leaving curtains billowing in her wake.

Lena sighs. This was going to be a long weekend.

* * *

The last time either of them had been to National City Airport, it was after they had gotten back from Kaznia. Lena had thought Kara had died, and they had discovered that Red Daughter was Lex’s pet project.

Things that were mere months ago now felt like eons. Lena knows now why Kara had survived that blast, knows why she escaped unscathed, knows why she called her name so desperately on the plane when Lena's back was turned to her. Her stomach churns as she sees Kara approach the gate.

To anyone none the wiser, she was ace reporter, Kara Danvers. But to a few select people, that now included Lena, she was Supergirl, Champion of Earth. Lena almost laughs derisively at how glasses and a cardigan could fool so many. 

“Sorry! Sorry!” Kara apologizes as she boards the plane, dropping her luggage which to Lena’s surprise and concern was just a medium sized duffle bag. “I was working on an article last night and I overslept!” Lena starts to wonder if Kryptonians actually needed a full eight hours of sleep, or any kind of sleep at all. “But I’m here now!” She smiles brightly before gasping, “Oh! _And_ —” Kara digs into the bag slung across her shoulder and pulled out a tupperware of scones.

Lena’s stomach grumbles.

“I brought them!” Kara beams, shaking the container at her. “I mean, I know you didn’t ask for them, but I know how you’ve been dreading this trip, so I thought, ‘Why not surprise her with scones from her favorite bakery in Dublin to cheer her up?’ And so I flew there as fast as I could, but then there was this cat in a tree—”

“Thank you, Kara. They’re lovely.” Lena cuts her off, half expecting the other woman to short circuit from her long winded explanation. She briefly wonders if Kryptonians ever ran out of breath; shoving the thought away when her mind takes it to a frankly inappropriate place. She takes the tupperware container and opens it, sighing uncontrolably at the scent of freshly made lemon scones. 

Perhaps this trip was in her favor after all.

The flight is a good seven hours, maybe six if they run into turbulence. Lena spends the first hour reading through a book she had been trying to finish for the longest. Board meetings, paperwork, and the world ending had prevented her from getting past where she was, and she figured now was a good time as any to at least attempt to make it to the next chapter.

“So where did you go to school anyway?” Kara says, looking up from her phone for the first time in ages. They hadn’t talked much up until this point besides the occasional “Could you pass me that?” and a comment about something beyond the cabin windows.

“Mount Helen's. It’s in a small town in Connecticut,” Lena answers, not even looking up from her book. Truth to be told, she had been staring at the same page for the past fifteen minutes and had been looking for a welcomed distraction. She bites her lip when Kara just hums in response. “Father wanted to send me to a school for gifted children in Metropolis,” she adds hastily, trying not to let the conversation die. “But Mother wanted me to go to school as far away from the rest of the family as possible. Less of a chance for me to be an embarrassment, I suppose," she hopes Kara can’t sense the evident hurt in her voice. 

Apparently she had. “Was it hard?” Kara asks, this time in a quiet tone. “Being away from your family?”

Lena shrugs, finally looking at her. “As hard as being away at a prestigious private boarding school for most of the year could be,” She knows that wasn’t exactly the answer Kara was looking for, but she really didn’t feel like having a heart to heart with her. Especially not after everything that’s happened.

Kara changes the subject. Sort of. “Did you at least have any friends?”

“I had Andrea,” Lena’s answer is straight forward, and she can feel a frown tugging at her lips. Kara was just curious, making small talk to pass the time. She wasn’t digging into her past to annoy Lena, but every question was bringing up things she didn’t want to remember. “I had Andrea and I had science. The only friends I needed.” She realizes she’s trying to convince herself, and it makes the bile rise in her throat to hear how pathetic she sounds.

But like always, Kara passes no judgement. “I had the stars,” her voice is soft and she grips the arm rest beside her so hard Lena can hear the material creak in protest. “And I had...” she pauses, swallowing down what Lena realizes are tears. “I had Kenny. He was my only friend. H—he died.” she sniffles. “Well, he was murdered. By someone Alex and I thought we could trust.” she clears her throat. “So, I’m really glad you had someone to get you through it all. Through everything.”

Lena was never really good with empathy. Sure, she _had_ it—her track record of saving humanity countless times over the past three and a half years could attest to that—but interpersonal empathy? Nope. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Giving someone something she never received has always been a constant problem for her, and this was no different. She feels awkward, like anything she says at this moment will make things worse. But she knows if she doesn’t say _anything_ , she’ll look like a complete asshole.

Luckily Kara gives her an out. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to change the subject on to me,” she tells her with a small sad smile. “It’s just, not something that happens every day, you know?”

Lena blinks, still not knowing what to do. “Em, yeah,” she responds, wanting to shoot her brains out for how apathetic that sounded. “I’m truly sorry for your loss.” She fights the urge to pinch herself. That, she was sure, was the worst response she could have given.

Kara nods. “It’s okay. I am who I am today because of him. Figuring out who killed him was the first case me and Alex ever took on together. It helped us grow closer as sisters. And it helped me realize how much the world needed someone. Someone like Supergirl.” She looks Lena in the eye. “I know I can’t stop every crime, or save every life, but for every one that I do, I get to keep going knowing that people are safe.”

“That’s...very noble of you,” Lena says, giving the other woman a small smile. 

They sit in an awkward silence after that, not really sure how to comfort each other’s sadness.

Lena thanks her lucky stars when they touch down a few hours later. Kara had fallen asleep—she still wonders why and how Kryptonians sleep—so all scenarios of any more awkward conversations were avoided. She put her things into her carry on bag before gently shaking the reporter awake.

“Whuh? Huh? Are we there yet?” Kara murmurs, her glasses comically askew.

Lena fights the urge to laugh. “Just landed. C’mon. Uber’s here to take us to the hotel.” she then walks away, allowing Kara to collect herself.

The ride to the hotel was quiet, except for the occasional attempt at small talk from Kara. A comment about the density of the foliage, or how the freshly fallen rain combined with the pine trees surrounding them made the air smell like car air freshener.

The hotel is anything but modest. A tall, looming building adorned with bright lights and ornaments that screamed prestige.

Kara’s eyebrows knit as they pass through the golden revolving doors, revealing an even more gaudy lobby. “I thought you said this was a small town,” she smiles brightly at a passing bellhop who gives her a welcoming nod.

Lena shrugs, unbothered by all the grandeur. “It is. Was. Haven’t been here in years.” She moved back to Metropolis after graduation and never looked back, immediately repressing every memory of the past four years. She had vowed to never go back. And yet, here she was, ten years later. She sighs, shaking her head. No use sulking. She _is_ the one who decided to go after all. 

Kara seems concerned by her sudden quietness. “Hey, you okay?” She puts a hand on Lena’s shoulder but lets it fall when she sees the frown on the other woman’s features. “Let’s check in, yeah?”

Lena nods. “Yeah. Sure.” she approaches the desk, giving the concierge a polite smile. “Hi, I’m here to check in? The reservation is under Anel Thorul.”

Kara looks perplexed. “An anagram? Why would you anagram your name?”

Lena clicks her tongue. “Well, given how many attempts have been taken on my life and how many people hate both me and my family, I think it’s a justifiable safety precaution.”

“But what if someone finds out?” Kara responds pointedly. “It doesn’t take that much brain power to figure out that you’ve rearranged the letters in your name.”

Lena raises a brow, putting a hand on her hip. “Who would believe that Lena Luthor was in a semi small eastern coast town for a high school reunion?”

Kara nods, humming. “Good point.”

“Excuse me, Ms. Thorul?” the concierge interrupts.

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry, but the only room available is a suite with a single king bed.” 

Lena frowns. “What? But I booked a room with two beds.”

“I know, but due to a sudden influx of travelers, we had to adjust. And since you only had one other guest in your room, we had to give your double bedroom to a family of four.” the concierge explains.

“But I can assure you all of your accommodations are the same.” she adds, as if _that_ was going to make everything better.

Lena wants to make a scene, metaphorically become her mother and demand the manager. But she’s tired, hungry, jetlagged, and just wants to curl up in her bed with her book while preparing herself for what was to come the following night. Sighing in resignation, she gives in. “We’ll take it.”

“Hey, it’s okay!” Kara puts an arm around her shoulder as they walk away from the front desk with their keys, “It’ll be just like a sleepover! I’ve never had a sleepover with anyone! Well, besides Alex,” she babbles, entering the elevator after Lena. “Oh! We should order room service! And watch a movie! Have you seen Mean Girls? You’d _love_ Mean Girls!”

Lena thumps her head against the wall behind her. “Honestly Kara, I’m exhausted and I want nothing more than to have a drink and go to sleep.”

The blonde deflates at that. “Oh,” she says, sounding sad. “That’s okay. I have an article to work on anyway...”

The elevator dings and they exit wordlessly. 

Lena awkwardly fiddles with the key card as they approach their room. She winces at the loud beep it creates when she presses it against the door, and sighs in relief when she sees the lush king bed in the middle of the room. 

"Oh thank god," she verbalizes once she spots the mini bar that was fully stocked as she requested. "I need a drink." 

Kara flops down on the bed. "Wanna grab a bite to eat?"

Lena glances at the book she had just placed on the bedside table, practically hearing it call her name. Her stomach growls. Against her better judgement she responds, "Yeah. Sure."

The town was _absolutely_ nothing like she remembered. Somewhere between her time at Mount Helen's and when she left, there had been an economic boom and it _showed_. 

Rows upon rows of stores Lena had never seen before lined the streets. There were at least ten times the amount of people walking around outside of the window of the bistro her and Kara had decided on.

Lena stirs her coffee with a frown. Maybe her definition of 'town' was skewed by the lifestyle she's lived since she's left.

Kara pats her stomach as they return to their room. "Man, those potstickers were _everything_!" She hadn't even taken the time to chew, just inhaled dumpling after dumpling like some kind of dim-sum vacuum.

Lena had grimaced a smile, watching Kara eat twice her body weight. It was like passing a car crash you just couldn't stop staring at. She rolls her eyes. "You didn't even bother to use chopsticks, you had the entire restaurant staring at you."

Kara grins sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry," she apologizes. "That'd make a pretty funny story though, wouldn't it? 'Supergirl Shocks Crowd With Stomach Of Steel'," she gestures in the air with a 1940's esque voice.

Lena can't help but laugh at that. "More like _disgusts_ crowd. You had soy sauce _everywhere."_

Kara flops down on the bed. "Nah," she says, halfheartedly waving her hand. "It wasn't that bad." 

The kryptonian sits up when she sees Lena lie next to her with a book in her hand. "Huh," she leans over her shoulder curiously. "I didn't know you wear glasses."

"And I didn't know you were Supergirl. So I guess we're even," Lena quips without missing a beat, turning a page in her novel. 

Kara blinks, clearly not taking it to heart. “Okay sure. Fair enough. Whatcha reading anyway?” she’s basically hovering over Lena now and grins when Lena pulls the book close to her chest.

“A book,” Lena answers simply.

Kara rolls her eyes clearly not amused. “I mean what’s it _about,_ silly,” she grins. “Is it a romance novel?”

“No. I don’t do romance,” Lena shuts her down. “It’s a murder mystery novel. A rich billionaire kills her on thin ice _best_ friend in a hotel room.”

“Oh,” Kara retreats to her side of the bed. She turns off her lamp. “Goodnight then.” 

Lena cracks a smile as she turns a page.

* * *

“Holy _shit_ —” Kara can’t stop herself. It comes out of her mouth the moment they walk through the door.

 _“Kara!”_ Lena hisses, a few eyes falling on them. She hadn’t even been here for two seconds and she already wanted to leave.

“I’m sorry!” Kara says, adjusting the tie of her royal blue suit. “It’s just, usually high school reunions are held in a gym! Not in a freakin’ mansion!” she gestures about, her eyes wide. “My high school reunion was held in a gym. With one punch bowl. That someone _spiked_!”

Attendees dot the foyer and imperial staircase talking, laughing, and very obviously showing off their wealth. Multiple chandeliers hang from the ceiling, glistening in the light. Waiters make rounds carrying large trays of hors d’oeuvres and champagne, things that Lena knows Kara would go after the minute she had a chance.

Lena takes a flute of champagne from a passing waiter and sighs. Kara’s little outburst had drawn attention to them, but not for long. Soon everyone was back to conversing with themselves. And soon, after an hour or so, Lena’s able to relax. A little. 

She’s still gripping tensely onto Kara’s arm when she asks, “You okay?” Kara can see she’s nervous, and slips a hand around her bare arm. “We don’t have to be here if you don’t want to. We can go back to the hotel and have a girl’s night in. Just you, me, and Ben and Jerry.”

Lena waves her off. “Don’t worry about it. It's fine. I’m fine.” _Was_ she though? Some of the people that inhabited this very room, people that she hadn’t seen in _years,_ made her teenage years a living hell. And it wasn’t like they didn’t know what she was up to. She was a Luthor after all, and everything that’s happened in the past three years was right at her former classmates' finger tips. “I just need you for moral support.”

“Moral support,” Kara nods. “Got it.” She spies a tray of quiches out of the corner of her eye and makes a beeline for it. “Ooh! Quiches!” she says, following after the waiter that just passed her.

“K-Kara!” Lena calls after her, to no avail. “Kara!" What happened to 'moral support'? She clicks her tongue. She should have known that was gonna happen. Kara was like a moth to a flame when it came to food. Lena never stood a chance.

“Lena! So nice to see you,” the voice that comes from behind her makes a chill run down her back and she slowly turns to face her demise. She gives Lena a once over, making the other woman suddenly feel self conscious in her off the shoulder red dress.

“Roulette,” Lena’s smile and tone is as equally as fake. “So nice to see you too. Did they let you out on good behaviour?”

Roulette counters with a fake laugh. “Come now, Lena. You know outside of the fight club it’s Veronica. And I think you’d be happy to know I didn’t serve any time. No thanks to you.”

Lena rolls her eyes. Of course she hadn't. That woman had connections everywhere she went. Her features are overtaken with a stoic expression, one she usually reserves for boardroom meetings. “What are you doing here, Roulette?”

Roulette shrugs. “Same as you. I came to say hello to our former classmates.” she grins. "Not so sure that they want to say hi to you though."

Lena's stone cold expression falters. "What makes you say that?"

Roulette gestures about them. "Really?" She sounds incredulous. "You can't see it? You've been here for more than ten minutes now and no one besides me has come up to you." she smirks when the last of Lena's defense comes tumbling down. 

"Look around you, Lena. Everyone here has husbands, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends. And you're still trying to salvage what you can of your psychotic brother's company."

"That's not true—” Lena tries to answer indignantly, but she knows that she's already lost given the smirk on Roulette's face. 

The crack in her voice had been undeniable.

“It isn’t true,” A voice behind her pipes up. Lena turns to see Kara standing firmly with her arms crossed. Somehow in the time that it took Roulette to make Lena feel worthless, Kara was able to weave her way back over to her and hear everything. “In fact, I’d say Lena’s got it better than half of the people here.”

Lena’s staring at her, completely perplexed as to where she was going with this. She was flattered, really, but confused as to where this was going.

“Oh? How so?” Roulette challenges, folding her own arms.

“She has a wife that actually loves her.” Kara puts a protective arm around Lena’s waist, pulling her closer. 

Lena’s eyes nearly bulge out of her head. “ _Excuse me_?” she goes to ask what the hell Kara was talking about but stops when the blonde gives her an all knowing wink. As if that was supposed to quell her shock.

Kara holds out her hand. “Kara Danvers. Ace reporter at Catco Worldwide Media and loving wife of Lena Luthor,” An air of confidence seemed to surround her, and no longer was Lena standing next to quirky journalist Kara Danvers, but someone closer to Supergirl. It felt like Lena was watching her toe the line between both personalities.

“Loving wife, huh?” Roulette says, her mouth up turning into an amused smirk. “Lena never told me she was married,” she folds her arms challengingly. “It’s also a wonder how a union between a Pulitzer prize winning jurno and a Fortune 500 CEO could go completely unnoticed.”

“It was a private affair,” Lena counters, not even sure she should involve herself at all, considering this was Kara’s bed and she’s the one to lay in it if this goes wrong. 

Roulette’s smile only grows. “Interesting,” she points to Lena’s finger. “Where’s your ring?”

“Em—” Lena faltures, and she’s sure the jig is up now. She bites the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from saying anything else, coming up completely blank.

“We don’t _need_ an overpriced rock to symbolize our love for each other,” Kara interjects, as she grabs a flute of champagne that passes by. Lifting it up to Roulette with a confident smirk she adds, “We’re not that pathetically shallow.” She knocks back the drink in one go, triumphantly placing the empty flute on another passing waiter’s tray without looking.

“Interesting,” the other woman concedes. “Well, I suppose I should leave the happy _couple_ to it then.” She makes eye contact with Lena, the smirk never leaving her lips. “Enjoy yourselves.” 

She disappears into the crowd and Lena releases a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She turns to Kara who is gripping her chest and hyperventilating. “W-What is wrong with you?”

“Champagne burns my throat,” Kara wheezes. “Rao, I’m never doing anything like that again."

Lena rolls her eyes. “Not the champagne! I mean telling her that we’re married! Do you know how much of a gossip Veronica Sinclar is? She’s going to tell everyone here and then some! Did you even think this through?!” 

“No,” Kara sulks. “But I heard her heckling you and I wanted to help. You don’t deserve that. They don’t know the Lena I do.”

Lena’s taken aback by the sincerity in Kara’s voice. She's seen Kara defend her honour multiple times, and every time it makes her feel like she doesn't deserve it. And after everything that's happened, it makes her feel even worse. “I appreciate the sentiment Kara but I can handle this myself.”

Kara rolls her eyes, knowing Lena was full of hot air. “If you could handle it yourself you wouldn’t have wanted me here.” 

She did have a point. Kara didn’t have to come with her or put herself on the line for Lena but she did. Lena sighs. “Thank you,” she says with a small smile. “For coming. And...that. Whatever it was.”

Kara gives her a two finger salute. “No problem. But I think we have another problem.”

Lena’s confused now. “Oh?”

“The room is spinning,” Kara gives her a goofy grin. “I think I might have overdone it.”

“Wha—” Lena balks, catching her as she falls. “I thought Alex said human alcohol can’t get Kryptonians drunk!”

Kara shrugs—or, at least _attempts_ to, given she’s barely being held up by a woman three inches shorter than her. “I ‘unno. Maybe we should get some alien alcohol to find out.”

“Absolutely not,” Lena’s voice is stern. She can see people starting to look in their direction again. “You’re drunk, Kara. It’s time to go.” more eyes are on them now, and it’s taking all of her strength to hold the kryptonian up. 

Kara shakes her head, struggling to regain her footing. “Nooo, first I wanna say somethin’.”

Lena’s eyes are saucers as she stares at her in horror. “Kara no. Kara—”

“Hey!” Kara calls, getting the attention of everyone in the room as she stands on a table, ignoring Lena's hushed whispers to get down. “You have _no_ idea how much of a good person Lena is! She’s the most beautifulest—”

“Kara, that’s not a word—”

“—Most caring and amazing person in the world!” she points to Lena, who tries to hide behind her clutch. “She’s got more compassion in her heart than _any_ of you suckers! You guys fucked up!” Kara waves her hands in a grand gesture, sweeping over the crowd. She gets down, rolling up the sleeves of her suit. “Now we can go.”

The crowd immediately falls into hushed whispers, every eye on Lena, silently judging her for bringing such a rowdy date. She’s not going to hear the end of it for months. Lena grabs Kara’s hand, making eye contact with Roulette who’s smug smirk makes her stomach drop. No good was going to come from that.

Even as they stumble outside, Kara seems to be oblivious to the trouble she just caused, giggling like a schoolgirl. “Did you see their faces?!” she asks as Lena hails a cab back to their hotel. “They were so shocked!”

Lena sighs, sliding into the taxi after her. “Appalled would be a better term,” she leans her head against the window as the driver pulls off, thinking of all the ways Kara had just killed any chance she had of her former classmates seeing her as anything but a freak.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Kara tells her, resting her head on Lena’s shoulder. “You don’t need their approval.” her voice is surprisingly clear for someone who was supposed to be drunk, and suddenly it dawns on Lena that Kara might have been faking the entire time.

“You lying bitch,” Lena pushes the blonde off of her. “Did you seriously pretend to be drunk just to prove a point?”

Kara can’t contain her grin. “Maybe?” she confirms sheepishly. “Ow!” She winces when Lena jabs her elbow into her rib. Lena knows that the Kryptonian was practically made of steel, so the reaction was purely theatrical. “It worked, didn’t it?”

Lena rolls her eyes. “Yes, but at what cost? I understand and appreciate the sentiment, Kara, but the world of the one percent isn’t built on integrity and compassion.”

“Yeah,” Kara concedes. “But you are. You’re better than any of those people. Ten times over. You are a beautiful, kind-hearted soul, and you shouldn’t be trying to fit in with people who don’t share the same values. You didn’t want to be there. You _felt_ like you had to be there. Like you had an obligation because you’re a Luthor, and Luthors are supposed to mingle with shady people. You have to stop putting yourself in this role that wasn’t meant for you.”

Lena purses her lips. “That might be true, but you have to understand Kara, there are certain things that are expected of me. Good person or not.”

The cabby pulls into the parking lot of their hotel Kara thanks him and Lena tips him generously. It isn’t until they get into the elevator does Kara respond to her. 

“Expectations are nothing but trouble,” she mumbles, watching Lena bang her head on the wall. “I would know. Supergirl is expected to be this perfect indestructible symbol of hope and sometimes I’m honestly two minutes from a mental breakdown.”

The elevator dings on their floor and they walk quietly to their room before Lena responds. “I get that. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through,” she says, taking off her earrings.

Kara loosens her tie. “Nor can I imagine what you’ve been through. But...” she trails, long enough for Lena to stop what she’s doing and look at her. “I lost you once, I can’t lose you again.”

Lena chuckles dryly. “Where’s this coming from?” She can see the serious look on Kara’s face and it’s starting to make her nervous.

“I watched Argo disappear, Lena. I watched our earth disappear, Earth-1 disappear, and most importantly, you, and Alex and Nia, and everyone else I love too. This is the second time I’ve lost places and people who mean so much to me.” She hugs herself as she speaks, looking more like a scared child than a hero who could stand up to bullets. “I know I’ve hurt you as Supergirl, and I’ve hurt you as Kara Danvers. And I’m sorry. In my mind I was preserving something that I was actually destroying. I just,” Kara sniffs, wiping her tears into her sleeve. “I just felt this sense of joy wash over me when I saw you after the Crisis. You’re still mad at me but you’re _here_. That’s honestly all I care about.”

Lena stands there, clearly taken aback. Her mind brings her back to the plane, and how Kara had expressed her feelings then too. She’s just as unprepared to respond as she was then. More so now that the topic of discussion was herself. Her eyebrows furrowed. “You hurt me,” is all she can think to say.

“I know, I, it's the one thing I regret in my life,” Kara takes a step towards her and Lena recoils, taking a step back. “We keep dancing around this,” she cautions, gesturing between the two of them. “You keep saying that I hurt you and I keep saying I’m sorry. It’s an endless cycle, Lena. It needs to stop.”

Lena works her jaw. “You do not get to tell me what needs to stop. Like I said before I’m not going to just keel over and forgive you—”

“Then why bring me here?!” Kara demands, waving her arms. “Why invite me to come with you on a weekend trip if you haven’t forgiven me? I just stood up for you in front of hundreds of people, regardless of what our relationship is right now.”

Lena’s eyes water. “I didn’t ask you to do that! You didn’t have to do it!” she practically screams, her voice almost as hurt and broken as it was that day in the Fortress. 

“I didn’t,” Kara concedes. “But I did. Because I wanted to. And I’ll always want to. Because you’re my _friend_ , Lena. The best one I have.” she takes a step closer to Lena, whose hands were shaking. 

This time Lena doesn’t recoil. Instead, she lets Kara wrap her arms around her in a soothing hug. At that moment, Lena realizes that she’s missed this, this feeling of warmth, Kara’s big strong arms around her, the palliative circles she rubs into her back, everything. And then it hits her like a freight train.

She doesn’t miss the hugs. 

She misses _Kara_. 

She misses her _best friend_. 

She must have let her subconscious speak for itself because the next thing she knows she’s staring into watery crystal blue eyes. It’s then that Lena realizes how close they are. She can see the little specks of freckles dotting across Kara’s face, the scar on her forehead—little things that made Kara, Kara.

 _Her_ Kara.

Lena’s eyes drift to Kara’s lips and suddenly, they’re all she can think about. Her mind drifts to her thoughts of whether or not Kryptonians can run out of breath, and she decides to listen to her inner scientist and put it to the test.

* * *

The next morning comes sooner than Lena would like. She wakes with her body entangled with Kara’s. Sunlight shines through a slit in the cheap hotel blinds, hitting Kara’s back making her almost glow.

She stares at the Kryptonian’s sleeping form for a long while, trying to comprehend everything that happened the night before. They had come home from the reunion and fought, which led to...other things. The fresh hickeys on her neck can attest to that.

She rolls over, somehow finding her phone in the mass of limbs. Unlocking it, she sees that she has three missed calls from Andrea and four texts from Sam. She’s confused, so she decides to call Andrea’s number. “Hello?”

“I told you to make up with her, not fuck her!”

Lena blinks, completely taken aback by her friend’s outburst. “What? What on earth are you talking about?” 

“Have you checked CatCo’s website?! You two are on the front page! I would know, I told William to write the story!”

“We’re what?! Hang on, Sam’s calling,” Lena merges the call. “Hello? Sam?”

“Lena Luthor! I leave for a few months and you’re screwing our best friend?!” Sam’s voice is then over taken by Ruby’s who asks if Kara and Lena are dating now.

Lena has had about enough of this, and opens her web browser to search for Catco.

The first thing she sees when she gets to the website is a picture of her and Kara getting out of their cab. Above it was the headline _'Lena Luthor Caught Getting Personal With Pulitzer Prize Winning Reporter Kara Danvers'_ along with a video of Kara's outburst from the night before someone had managed to record.

_An anonymous source has told us that Lena Luthor and Kara Danvers were seen at the Luthor's high school reunion last night. Best friends might not be the right word to describe these women anymore, since our source says they have secretly married and was even caught having a rendezvous in one of the bathrooms of the event last night._

Lena hangs up on both of her friends.“Kara!” she’s mindlessly slapping behind her now, the panic rising in her voice. “Kara, wake up! Wake up, Kara!”

“Whuh? Huh? What’s up?” Kara rolls over, squinting to adjust her eyes to the bright screen that’s been unceremoniously shoved in her face. “What is that?”

“ _That_ is the consequences of you telling everyone you’re my wife!” Lena puts her head in her hands. “See? I told you Roulette would use this against me!”

“So?”

“She said we were caught fucking in the bathroom.”

_“Oh.”_

“Do you know how much this is going to affect us? Everyone around us is going to—It’s Lex,” Her phone rings, interrupting her. Her eyebrows furrow as she answers. “What do you want?”

“Congratulations on fornicating with a Kryptonian.”

She hangs up on him. “You wouldn’t be able to start another world ending crisis would you?” she groans.

“Uh, sorry, I'm all tapped out on life altering crossovers,” Kara says, pulling her close. “But hey! On the bright side, people respect you now!" She sees Lena isn't amused. "Probably,” 

Lena pinches the bridge of her nose. "Respect from my peers is the least of my worries right now. I mean aren't you concerned about how you'll be received going back to work at Catco? What about the DEO?"

Kara shrugs. "People write things about me all the time. You too. You shouldn't let it bother you. I told you to stop caring what other people think. It's not worth your time."

Lena gapes at her. "Your absolutely apathetic attitude towards this situation is infuriating."

Kara gives her a wolfish grin. "That's not what you said last night."

Lena rolls her eyes. "Shut up." She leans in to kiss her, but is interrupted by the shrill ring off a phone. This time Kara's.

Kara picks it up. "Hey Alex," 

"Don't 'Hey Alex' me!" Alex is so loud even Lena winces, and her ear isn't even on the receiver. "You and Lena have _so_ much explaining to do!"

"Even you? You know that's just gossip right?" Kara idly plays with Lena's hair as if she was just having a normal chat with her sister.

"Kara, it's not just Catco. You guys are _everywhere._ You're literally the new Angelina and Brad!"

"Is that a bad thing?"

 _"Yes it's a bad thing!"_ Alex's voice crackles from how loud she's being. "You work at a secret government facility! How are you going to keep Supergirl from getting out?"

"I mean I _could_ just stay here with Lena for a few more days, you know, just until the heat dies down," Kara says to Alex, though looking at Lena with a grin.

Kara can hear Alex sigh. "Fine! But no more trouble!"

"We promise," Kara responds distractedly, her focus now on the dark haired woman leaving a trail of kisses from her chest all the way up to her neck. She barely remembers to hang up before embracing Lena.

Lena kisses her, slow and languid, savouring every moment. She stares into Kara's eyes lovingly, glad she had invited her on this trip. "I guess I couldn't care for a few days."

Kara grins, straddling her. "That's my girl."


End file.
